Darnell Mooney bobbled what would have been the winning touchdown for the Bears, gifting the Commanders a 12-7 win in Chicago.
With 35 seconds remaining the Bears approached the line of scrimmage for their 4th & goal attempt from the 4 yard-line.
Quarterback Justin Fields took the snap, looked right and fired to Mooney who was slightly open, being defended by Washington’s Benjamin St-Juste.
As the ball reached the leaping Mooney, facing Fields, both hands extended upward, he appeared to catch the ball just after it had crossed the imaginary plane, which would have been a Bears touchdown and a 13-12 lead with 30 seconds remaining.
However, the replay showed that Mooney bobbled Fields’ pass and did not regain possession until he was back inside the field of play. Thus, the ball did not cross the plane and be in the possession of Mooney and was correctly spotted by the official at the Commanders 1, turning over the ball on downs back to the Commanders.
Washington then took one snap with Carson Wentz under center falling forward, and the Commanders were able to run out the clock, securing a very ugly and unimpressive 12-7 win.
Washington had a great opportunity to put the Bears in a much tougher position; however, Joey Slye’s 48-yard field goal with 1:49 remaining was hooked badly to the left.
The Commanders had the ball 4th & 4 at the Bears’ 30 with three options. 1) They could run a play attempting to get a first down, securing the win. 2) They could ask Tress Way to pooch-punt, pinning the Bears deep, forcing them to drive perhaps 90 yards in under two minutes with no timeouts. Ron Rivera chose the third option of having Slye extend the Commanders’ lead from 5 to 8 points, meaning the Bears would need to not only score a touchdown but also convert a two-point conversion.
The Commanders nearly gave away the game in the last minute, permitting the Bears to drive 61 yards in 8 plays.
Darnell Mooney was this close to winning the game for the Bears. pic.twitter.com/umz2Jw5h48
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) October 14, 2022
